The sleazy controversy between the Senate President, Godswill Obot Akpabio, and the Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, over alleged sexual harassment, may have got deeper as the senator’s husband, Chief Emmanuel Uduaghan, has risen in a stout defence of his wife.
In a statement he issued on Saturday, March 1, 2025, Chief Uduaghan, revealed that he knew everything about the sexual harassment saga as his wife always fed him in as it evolved.
He disclosed that having considered Akpabio as a Family friend, he decided to seek a private meeting with the Senate President to address the serious concerns expressed by his wife.
“My wife has confided in me about her interactions with the Senate President, whom I considered a family friend,” Uduaghan, a traditional Chief in Warri, Delta State, recounted in the statement. “In response, I approached the matter with the utmost maturity and responsibility, as it is my duty as a traditional leader who has immense respect for constituted authority and upholds core family values to foster peace and harmony.”
During the meeting with Akpabio over the matter, Uduaghan said he specifically urged Akpabio to extend the respect and courtesy that his wife deserved as a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, while honoring their friendship at the same time.
“I personally met with the Senate President and respectfully urged him to extend the courtesy and respect my wife deserves, while also honoring the friendship between us. We reached an understanding and agreed to resolve the issue amicably,” Uduaghan said in the statement.
Rather than the situation abating, Chief Uduaghan declared, it festered. Natasha, he said, continued to express serious concerns that the alleged sexual harassment by the Senate President persisted.
“However, despite this agreement, my wife continues to express concerns about the harassment she has endured from the Senate President,” he noted.
The roiling controversy, notwithstanding, Uduaghan expresses unwavering faith in his wife’s loyalty, describing her as “the greatest joy of my life.”
Pledging unflinching commitment to their marriage, Uduaghan said: “I have unwavering faith in my wife’s loyalty and am fully committed to our marriage, which is grounded in love, compassion, and mutual respect. I would never trade her for anything, as she is the greatest joy of my life.”
He appealed to the Senate to treat his wife with the dignity she deserves while allowing the relevant authorities to determine the facts of the matter.
His exact words: “I now respectfully urge the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Senate President to treat my beloved wife with the respect and dignity she truly deserves while the relevant authorities and the court determine the underlying issues.
“It is clear that certain sentiments are being stirred up unnecessarily, distracting from the serious underlying allegations, which should concern every discerning individual with sound family values.
“Without prejudice to the ongoing legal proceedings, I wish to emphasize that my wife was duly elected by her people due to the immense love, respect, and confidence they have in her, and she is committed to delivering quality representation to her district and the nation at large.
“She is a devoted wife, and the bond we share is deep and unwavering. She has always remained truthful, even in the face of adversity.”
Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan had opened a can of worms during an interview with Arise Television on the station’s flagship programme: The Morning Show, where she sensationally declared that Godswill Akpabio made inappropriate advances towards her during a visit to his residence in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, on December 8, 2023.
She claimed that the Senate President took her by the hand, led her around his house, and made sexual advances toward her in the presence of her husband.
She recalled that on another occasion, Akpabio suggested that she should “take care of him” if she wanted her motions to receive favourable consideration on the floor of the Senate.
Akpabio’s wife, Unoma, brought another dimension to the salacious episode when she slammed a N250 billion law suit against Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, claiming that the lawmaker representing Kogi Central had caused her and her family serious distress by her weighty allegations against her husband.
Whether that law suit would fly or fall flat on its face, only time and the courts of the land will decide.